Mission & Values
Our Story
Su Teatro was borne at the height of Chicano Civil Rights Movement. In a class, at the University of Colorado at Denver, in 1972 a student-organized theater group was formed as Chicano Teatros spread across the southwest. For the next 10 years, Su Teatro lived on the picket line, the parks, the political rallies, a nomadic troupe telling the stories of the movement around them. Under the direction of Anthony J Garcia, Su Teatro started to do full blown plays at rented spaces such as the Denver Center and Slightly off Center Stage. In 1986, they performed Intro to Chicano History:101 at Joseph Papp’s Festival Latino at New York City’s Public Theater.
The success of the company and the investment of the community, allowed Su Teatro to purchase the Historic Elyria School in Northeast Denver in 1989 and became El Centro Su Teatro, a multidisciplinary cultural arts center. Since 1989, Su Teatro has produced full theatrical seasons, now over thirty seasons makes them one of the oldest ongoing theaters in Metro Denver. At the Centro, Su Teatro started most of the programs they continue to do today, including the Chicano Music Festival, the XicanIndie FilmFest and the Cultural Arts Education Institute.
After a six year search, Su Teatro returned to the Westside with the purchase of The Denver Civic Theatre at 721 Santa Fe Drive in October 2010. For the last ten years, Su Teatro has thrived in the heart of the city, as the Civic (Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Center) quickly became a gathering spot for the community.
Our Programs
Su Teatro produces a full season of theater performed by our resident company Su Teatro, the XicanIndie FilmFest (Xicano Independent Filmmakers’ Festival) , the Chicano Music Festival and Auction, and the WordFest annually. The Cultural Arts Education Institute is Su Teatro’s arts education program, including in school/out of school programs, Su Teatro Employment Program (STEP internships) and El Teatro VolARTE.
For nearly 50 years, Su Teatro has established a national reputation for homegrown productions that speak to the history and experience of Chicanos. Su Teatro has been home to many plays created about the history of Colorado – Fire in the Streets, War of the Flowers, Cuarenta y Ocho, Northside, Ludlow:El Grito de las Minas, and The Day Ricardo Falcon Died.
Su Teatro tours the metro area, the state and regionally annually, and has undergone multiple national touring opportunities. Including taking Enrique’s Journey to the Los Angeles Theater Center’s National Latin@ Theater Encuentro in 2014, a National Performance Network supported tour of Interview with a Mexican to MACLA (San Jose, CA) and the National Hispanic Cultural Center (Albuquerque, NM) in 2018, and will soon be touring Interview with a Mexican nationally from coast to coast with the support of the New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Project.
Su Teatro offers a variety of programming that includes our theatre season, film festival, music festival, WordFest, touring shows and the Cultural Arts Education Institute
Check out stories, essays, articles and all manner of writing and recollections about who we are, where we’ve been and where we are going.
For more than 40 years, Su Teatro has established a national reputation for home-grown productions that speak to the history and experience of Chicanos
Su Teatro Organizational and Staff Awards and Recognition 2006 – 2018
